Need strings, but haven't got a clue.

Well, my current Sensation job is at the end of its life, so I think the old nBlade needs a restring soon.

My problem is, my knowledge of strings is pretty much non-existent, so I don't know what to buy. All I know is that I don't want Sensation again. Oh, I don't seem to break the stuff, and i'm not sure why this is. I'm not poking at the ball - I do hit fairly hard with decent topspin, and i'm playing 2-3 times a week.

I had a look in one of our two shops today to see what they had. They had a lot of Wilson stuff - Reaction, Stamina, Enduro Pro, NXT and Sensation, as well as a million packs of Luxilon variants. I also saw Klip K-Boom and synthetic gut, Pacific PolyForce, Head RIP Control and Sonic Pro. There were a few Babolat strings, but I can't seem to remember any names - prompt me and I might. At this stage, my choices are probably limited to these.

So, basically, i think i'm after something that's going to hold tension very well, and has decent playability for a long time. I don't seem to be a frequent string breaker, so durability is not a big issue.

Hopefully i've covered enough for you all to help me out. If not, let me know

Good idea to not go with Sensation again -- there are tons of better strings out there.

Of the ones you named, I can recommend Wilson Reaction and NXT. Reaction is a very nice string with a crisp and comfortable feel -- and very good tension maintenance. NXT would be a good introduction for you to the world of good multifilaments. It won't last nearly as long as Reaction, but you'll get the experience of playing with a string that has more feel than cheaper (mostly monofilament) strings.

Both would give you "reference experiences" -- that you can then compare other strings to.

If you are serious about finding the right combination of string and tension then you should purchase you own strings and stringing machine. Years ago, I used to pay $25-30 for a string job at mid tension and think that that was just the way it is. When you break strings in a week...let's do the math...52 x $30 = $1560.

I bought a used stringer for $200 and have experimented with dozens of strings (syn gut, kevlar, poly's, nat gut, hybrids)(this forum is a great place for information) and have come to find out that I like my tension high and a full poly job because I swing hard, I like alot of spin & control plus a muted feel. I don't have arm problems (did in the past)(I come to find out it was because of a too stiff a racket). Additionally, I don't mind stringing once a week.

My experience has led me to what works for me. There are 67 out of 100 people on this forum that would debate my style of play, tension, string choice, the stringer I use and a myriad of other things. But this is what works for me. It took time and money but I'm alot closer to understanding my tennis, strokes, personality and technology.

By the way, I used to play golf twice a week for $50-70 a round so tennis is relatively cheap compared to that. I also surf weekly and remember the immortal words from Bruce Brown in Endless Summer...whose the best surfer in the water? The one having the most fun!

Ah, owning my own machine is something I would love to do one day. I'd love to have the ability to experiment.Right now, I don't break strings often enough for me to be able to justify such a purchase, but buying a machine is something I am serious considering doing in a few years.

I'm tempted to try the PolyForce, but if I don't like it i'm sort of stuck with it. Will it go "dead" quickly, or will it stay good for a long time? I probably don't need a poly, I know, but it is interesting.

NXT is a little pricey here, but I would probably get a fair bit of use out of it.

Do Babolat make anything that would be good here? I'm not sure exactly which of their strings were on offer, but I know there were a lot, so chances are it would be available.

So long as I don't get Sensation again i'll more than likely come out happy. Thanks for the advice so far - keep it coming